Are you a fan? If you say so, Tarzan

After writing my game reaction yesterday, in which I had some criticism of Tim Tebow, I received several emails questioning my Broncos fanhood.

Just what does it mean to be a Broncos fan?

Back when I was a kid and began to identify myself as a fan, all that meant was watching my father curse John Elway on television and getting into fistfights at school with Steelers fans. It didn't take a lot of Broncos gear, Broncos tattoos, or a throwback jersey; it didn't require a cable package, mandatory attendance at Mile High Stadium (I made it to just a handful of games), or box seat; it didn't require that I adhere to a code, or sign my name somewhere, or join a group on Facebook group created by other self-identified fans.

And it sure as hell didn't require blind devotion--to the owner, to the quarterback, to other fans.

These days you'd think that bleeding orange and blue is a requirement for being a fan, which again, is nothing more than a self identification. Broncos fanhood is not a race, nor a gender, nor even a religion (although I'm sure we could start one). From a pyschological standpoint, being a fan is nothing more than the need for a little tribal warfare. As James McKinley of the New York Times wrote on the topic of fanhood:

One theory traces the roots of fan psychology to a primitive time when human beings lived in small tribes, and warriors fighting to protect tribes were true genetic representatives of their people, psychologists say.

In modern society, professional and college athletes play a similar role for a city in the stylized war on a playing field, the theory goes. Even though professional athletes are mercenaries in every sense, their exploits may re-create the intense emotions in some fans that tribal warfare might have in their ancestors. It may also be these emotions that have in large part fueled the explosion in the popularity of sports over the last two decades.

If this is true, then it's not surprising that some orange-and-blue clad tribal members believe they, as the most committed member of the Broncos' clan, can banish and ostracize others who don't bleed as often, as much, or as long. In the old days, it would have required some stick and stones and some broken bones. Now, we have much more refined intstruments called message boards. We can tell others they are not true members of the clan if they don't think and act a certain way. Why? Because we believe ourselves more committed members of the tribe.

Some of these tribal (and suicidal) tendencies include:

Believing that the length of self identification matters. You've heard it dozens of times, haven't you? It usually begins with, "I've been a Broncos fan for (insert number here) years." Fine, you've been cheering longer. I guess that makes you a better hunter and gatherer? Not really. It just means you devoted more of your waking hours to self identification than others.

Creating codes of conduct. This includes telling other fans what they should say, do, and how they should act. The classic line is, "a true Broncos fan would never..." Never what? Never disagree with your tribal world view? Go tell the chief. Wait, there isn't a chief. That's because being a fan is a choice.

Thinking attendance matters. This is classic tribal stuff (and good office politics, too). If you want to lift your stature in the Broncos clan, say "I'm a season ticket holder," or "I was at the game." It implies that you're a more important member of the tribe. But all it really means is that you've spent more of your hard-earned cash that could have went to your kid's college saving's fund in the pursuit of your self identification. If you don't attend the next tribal council, it just means someone else that bleeds bluer blue and oranger orange will take your place. And Pat Bowlen will be happy to take their money, too.

The list could go on, but you get the drift--some members of the tribe are more important than others.

Of course, the reality is much different. You can do just about anything you want and still self identify. After all, no one can confirm that you aren't a Broncos fan if you feel and say you are. There isn't a Broncos police force who will come to your house and see if you have an identification card stamped with a Broncos logo and a Nike swoosh. No one is going to bust into your house while you and your lady friend are getting the friction on so they can can march you up against a wall and put you on the Bad Fan List. If you want to burn a Kyle Orton jersey, so what? The sun still rises. If you want to root for your team to lose, big deal. Joe Ellis still draws six seven figures. If you want to believe--like my father did--that referees make money on the side by throwing calls for the bookies--it's your God-given right. The Broncos will still take you--just visit the gift shop, please. If you want to be a Raiders fan (and dumber for the experience) for five years to soil your oats, go for it.

Being a fan is an elective. You're not graded, except by others who are taking the elective, too.

What they think matters, but the good news is that it only matters to them.

This is analogous to the whole &#8216you&#8217re not a patriot if you criticize the President/military&#8217 argument that is so annoying. TJ, like everyone else in the world, has the right to a completely misguided and inexplicably negative view of Tim Tebow <img alt="wink" height="19" src="http://www.singernet.com/images/smileys/wink.gif" style="border:0;" width="19">

Posted by krissberg on 2011-10-25 00:14:09

While I love Tebow, even though ZI see all of the horrific things he is a a QB, and I certainly don&#8217t mind others having their own opinions, I just wanted to point something out.

I think your presentation in taking the other side of Ted is one of the main reasons that the reaction was heightened. I mean, you even said arguing is good for the site (well, that is how many would perceive it, because really, it seemed deeper, like being able to express one self, even if it is against the grain&#8230and that by you doing so as a staffer, it will allow, embolden or empower others to do the same).

I am not saying it is wrong or bad that you presented it that way, TJ, but it is just an observation, and I am surprised that you are shocked at the resulting consquence.

Posted by Mhantra on 2011-10-25 00:02:31

Dude, &#8220soil your oats&#8221 had me spitting adult beverage all over my monitor. I LOVE the tribal references. They always relate to us mammals. The more we &#8220progress&#8221, the more we remain the same.

I&#8217m such a fan, I burned Kyle Orton in effigy on my lawn when Tebow was named the starter. My neighbors complained, but I fended them off with a rake. Then the cops showed up&#8230..oh well.

After the third quarter on Sunday, I was waving a voodoo doll over Orton&#8217s ashes, hoping to bring him back. Thankfully, the messiah brought the good guys back for the victory.

Fandom is hell!

Posted by jayrockstone on 2011-10-24 22:51:38

As for the Fan Police, they can *expletive* my *expletive* *expletive* *expletive*.

I love and appreciate IAOFM for the unvarnished truth. But confirmation bias applies to us all. Personally, I don&#8217t think I could have been an Elway fan under the same criteria some folks are using to judge Tebow four games into his NFL career. And arguments mentioning Orton at this point? It&#8217s kind of reaching.

Tebow is wildly unpredictable. Some of what I saw yesterday was ghastly&#8212the game looked way too big for him. I chalked that up to trying to do too much, being too excitable. Sometimes he is competent, mostly he is deer in headlights. Is it unreasonable to expect that will improve over time? Not to me.

In deference to the Fat Man, I go with my gut. I watched the game with a sense of humor and irony, and had a lot of fun yesterday. As Tebow made gaffe after gaffe (though I keep feeling I should remind folks he only threw 8 passes in the first half yesterday), I winced but then I laughed and told my buddy (who abandoned Elway and became a GB fan after the SF SB loss) that&#8217s just who he is right now. Doesn&#8217t invalidate the good stuff or the W. I&#8217m just a little weary of getting uptight over a bad team. I&#8217m letting it fly, and letting my fandom follow.

Posted by broncosmontana on 2011-10-24 22:47:06

So does this mean I can stop wearing my orange and blue afro to work now?

Posted by Orange and Blue on 2011-10-24 22:43:30

Azdenfan -

He did get hurt in that preseason game (against the Bengals I believe). He took that rib shot, but it was a day-to-day thing and I believe they held him out of a week of practice.

The sacks are not a huge concern as the league does everything they can to baby QB&#8217s, it would be very suprising to see him take a killshot on a sack.

The running 8-10 times a game doesnt concern me as much either because he is a big fells at 6&#82173 and 240+. Fullbacks of that size take that type of punishment in the teams opening 3-4 offensive series.

He is a durable guy and injury is no more of a concern for him than it is for a guy like Matt Ryan, even considering his play style and is far less of a concern than a guy like Stafford.

That&#8217s the way I look at it anyways

Posted by David Wilkie on 2011-10-24 22:24:34

I don&#8217t think I would describe anyone on a Bronco fan site as a typical fan. Most typical fans (this includes me, even though I&#8217m here), are perfectly happy just to watch the Broncos play football; we don&#8217t really care whose name appears on the back of jerseys; and we don&#8217t really have more than a basic understanding of the intricacies of the game. We see someone with the ball and know what that person is supposed to do with it, but we don&#8217t know terminologies for specific plays, and can&#8217t explain in technical terms or diagram what we just watched happen. And, although my knowledge of the game has increased quite a bit since discovering MHR and IAOFM, I still don&#8217t find myself wanting to analyze the game as I&#8217m watching it like most people on sports fan sites apparently do. I still just enjoy watching the Broncos play football, in bad times as well as good, because I&#8217m a Bronco fan.

Posted by CompUser on 2011-10-24 22:21:21

I don&#8217t care about your &#8216fandom&#8217 one way or the other. But if you are more comfortable with Tebow as the leader of our team after yesterday&#8217s game, Then you weren&#8217t watching the same game I watched

Posted by GRUMPA on 2011-10-24 21:40:52

@ magster, you know, the more I think this over the harder it is to make defined rules. There are too many gray areas. I think there&#8217s a difference between booing a player for his professionalism or conduct and booing a player for his performance. Your boo seems to fall into the first category IMO, clearly that&#8217s how you intended it. In my opinion, if he&#8217s giving his best on the field or at least making SOME effort, I&#8217d personally refrain from booing. But if you&#8217re certain that he&#8217s checked out, then that&#8217s a bit of an insult IMO. I mean, I understand that these players are human beings and not the mythical figures I thought they were when I was a kid&#8230 they&#8217re going to get pissed off or frustrated here and there. I don&#8217t always give 100% at work (I&#8217m here at IAOFM right now, aren&#8217t I?) But for all the money they make, they can at least pretend for a while, can&#8217t they? save the frustration for the locker room, and we&#8217ll save our boos for the car ride home, or the internet discussion boards!

@ NDbronco: fandom&#8217s definitely changed, for the good and the bad. It seemed like back in the 80&#8217s when I was a kid that we all bought into the shared experience a bit more, and there wasn&#8217t all of this constant analysis and criticism. of course, that&#8217s true in a lot of other aspects of life. Corporations don&#8217t get the time they need to develop their businesses because they&#8217ll drop billions in market cap in one day if they miss earnings next quarter. Political discourse is an unholy mess that makes the Dilfer / Hoge / Tebow nonsense look like a Quaker&#8217s meeting. And the celebrity gossip industry is nothing short of disgusting.

But on the other hand, back then I didn&#8217t know half (heck, not even a quarter) of what I know about the game now, to large degree because of sites like this and MHR. The things I&#8217ve learned about football strategies, personnel groupings,and even individual techniques has improved my enjoyment of the game. As has the (mostly) civil discourse here in the comment section.

I think you and I are in agreement that getting too hung up on the QB question ruins some of that for all of us, even if we disagree on how much enthusiasm vs. concerned criticism we&#8217d like to see after a crazy game like yesterday&#8217s. Personally, I&#8217ll give the writers of this site a pretty wide berth, since A: it&#8217s free and B: the writing and opinions they provide are generally top-notch, even when I disagree. But I can see why you&#8217d be disappointed to read critical comments after such an exciting win. Sometimes you just like to bask in that feeling for a while before being brought back down to earth&#8230.

Posted by Hercules Rockefeller on 2011-10-24 21:19:45

TJ: I have to assume that the people who question your fandom had no problem when you criticized Orton. Don&#8217t let it get to you.

DW: I seem to remember Tebow going down in his very first exhibition game for the Broncos. Also he was sacked 7 times yesterday and ran another 8. Also spread QBs in the NFL have a history of injury. Also he suffered at least one concussion in college. Besides that, who would think Tebow might have a chance to get hurt out there?

The bigger problem is that if we build our whole offense around his skillset, what happens when he does get injured? None of our backups would be a good fit at that point. To build a team that depends so much on one player seems foolish. Sorry he&#8217s just not that special to me.

Posted by azdenfan on 2011-10-24 21:15:23

Tebow has a long long way to go, and I don&#8217t think anyone will dispute that. I don&#8217t think it&#8217s wrong to criticize things about Tebow&#8217s game you find painful. But I also don&#8217t think people should feel bad for enjoying the last 10 minutes of the game.

Also, I don&#8217t always drink koolaid, but when I do, I prefer orange.

Posted by broncosmontana on 2011-10-24 21:01:13

What was going through the mind of someone who questioned the Broncos fanhood of one of the main contributors on a Broncos blog? Maybe the alcohol was on the brain.

Being a fan of Tebow does not equal being a fan of the Broncos. I wonder what percentage of those questioning your fanhood would identify themselves as Broncos fans who thought it was okay to criticize Orton.

I am a major Tebow fan. I read your commentary yesterday and thought that it was spot on - except that I would give Tebow another 5 or 6 games before making a decision as to whether he will or will not be the QB for the Broncos going forward.

Posted by DavidInLA on 2011-10-24 20:58:23

Always thought you were a stats guy TJ. Leave the literary analogies to Doc. It&#8217s all about the relative degree of fanship Dude. Figure out your (EGW^n)/(1-t) and get back to me.

Posted by AndrewR0488 on 2011-10-24 20:56:07

If it makes you feel better TJ, I&#8217ve never considered you to be a Broncos fan. I also can&#8217t believe how it&#8217s not obvious to everyone else, so I&#8217ll try to explain. See if you can keep up.

You self identify with &#8220The Dude&#8221 who was played by Jeff Bridges. Jeff Bridges also played in Sea Biscuit with Giannia Russo. He was also in 3000 miles to Graceland with Howie Long. Howie Long was drafted by Al Davis. Hence you are clearly sending a message that you are in fact a Raiders fan.

You may have fooled some of the people around here, but I&#8217m not so weak minded that I fell for it.

Posted by Fan in Exile on 2011-10-24 20:55:58

Right on, man.

For me the litmus test is simple. Do you prefer the team with mad horses on their Riddels to score more points than any other NFL team by the time the game expires?

If so, congratumalations, you&#8217re a Bronco fan. Now you can bitch all you want about anything you want, and it&#8217s cool with me.

; )

Posted by broncosmontana on 2011-10-24 20:55:13

magster - When I was a kid, my grandma insisted that we go around the table at Thanksgiving and spout off something that we were thankful for. So, immediately after she &#8220thanked the Lord&#8221 for her newest husband&#8217s &#8220good lovin&#8217,&#8221 I deadpanned how thankful I was that the Broncos were 9-3. She was not amused.

Posted by Xtreme212000 on 2011-10-24 20:54:45

Ralph - The artist is James Brown and the movie is Rocky IV. Of course, it could have been in other movies as well, but it&#8217s definitely in that one.

Posted by Xtreme212000 on 2011-10-24 20:49:16

Nice message Hercules.

I&#8217m not sure fan-dom is quite what it used to be. In the past, you had your T.V. and friends to argue football with. If you just watched yesterday&#8217s game, thought it was terrible, awesome, or whatever, you shared it with your family or friends. What you didn&#8217t do was share it with the world.

Years ago I didn&#8217t have strangers telling me what they thought of the game, which is okay; or worse, telling me what I should think of the game. I don&#8217t think Elway would be as good in my eyes if he played today under this microscope. There would be &#8220good, bad, and what the heck&#8221 and sometimes it would be Elway in the bad category. I&#8217d be reading post about how Elway was sucking and time to bring back Craig Morton or put in Steve DeBerg.

What was disappointing about today&#8217s and yesterday&#8217s downer posts, even if correct on some notes, is that it no longer felt like a place to go to celebrate a victory, and an exciting victory at that. It was like going to a Merill Hoge site or something. I wanted to share an exciting win with like minded people and enjoy the victory, even if there were significant doubts raised by Tebow&#8217s play. What I realized is that I should have just enjoyed the victory with my son and forgot this site.

Posted by NDbronco on 2011-10-24 20:43:57

Herc,

I consider myself a bigger Nugget fan even than a Broncos&#8217 one, and there was quite the debate on Denverstiffs on booing Melo as a reflection of whether you were a true Nuggets fan. (Disclosure: I boo&#8217d Melo after he said something obnoxious after a win that showed he had mentally checked out). Do you consider booing Melo in that context a violation of your &#8220no boo&#8221 rule?

Just curious&#8230.

Posted by magster on 2011-10-24 20:36:43

OK, I&#8217ve got a couple thoughts here.

1: Thanks for the column, this is stuff that really needs to be said to maintain the culture of the site. We&#8217ve all seen what the Denver post&#8217s message boards turned out during the whole Cutler / McDaniels fiasco, and a lot of us turned to MHR as a result. MHR&#8217s gone a bit down hill in my humble opinion, and I wound up here because people keep it pretty civil. The whole Tebow thing threatens that, and in my humble opinion it would suck if this website ends up like some of the other sites out there. I think there&#8217s ample room to agree to disagree re Tebow, and none of it makes you less of a fan. In fact, that brings me to my second thought

2: Criticizing a player doesn&#8217t make one less of a fan, so long as the criticism is fair reasonable. In fact, such criticism is the product of being a caring fan. I&#8217m critical of some aspects of Tebow&#8217s game, but that&#8217s because I care about the Bronco&#8217s quarterback play. You won&#8217t hear me criticizing or praising the QB play of about 25 of the other 31 teams in the league because I honestly don&#8217t care in most cases. It&#8217s like what I tell my kids when I discipline them; I&#8217m hard on them sometimes not because they&#8217re bad kids but rather because they&#8217re GOOD kids. If they were simply bad I wouldn&#8217t care, but because they&#8217re mine and I know they&#8217ve got the potential to be good, I want to see them do it.

3: I disagree that there aren&#8217t some rules to being a fan, because some things are implied in the term &#8220fan&#8221 itself. Although I suppose you&#8217re technically correct that as a self-imposed term fan could legitimately mean any and everything one wants it to, I contend that there are some characteristics that we could all agree are inherent to a common-knowledge understanding of the term &#8220fan&#8221. The first is that you support and root for your team. That means no booing your own team, even when the boos are merely a reflection of the same sort of frustration I refer to above. If you consider yourself a supporter of the team, sometimes you&#8217ve got to suck it up and direct some of those feelings elsewhere. I don&#8217t care how much they get paid or how badly they play, when those players are on the field in a Broncos uniform, my role is to support them no matter what. To me, that&#8217s what a fan does.

The second is that a fan recognizes other fans as members of the community. Being a pro sports fan may be a completely artificial construct that helps us deal with the fractured nature of modern life as the quotes above suggest. I&#8217m fine with that, I think that&#8217s something people need and it provides value to our lives, even if it is ultimately arbitrary. I can&#8217t tell you how many conversations I&#8217ve had with random people all over the country about the Broncos (although I&#8217m sure we&#8217ve all had similar experiences). My wife&#8217s always amazed by the random people who&#8217ll talk to me when I&#8217m wearing broncos gear, no matter where we are. We&#8217ll seemingly pick up in the middle of a conversation with no other context and carry on a detailed discussion for a few moments, then go our separate ways and go about our lives. To her it&#8217s a little weird, but to me, that&#8217s kinda neat that we&#8217ve got a shared experience that&#8217s capable of being so detailed and deep. We&#8217ve got to value that as fans, which is why I like TJ&#8217s point that there&#8217s no such thing as a &#8220better&#8221 or &#8220worse&#8221 fan.

Go Broncos

Posted by Hercules Rockefeller on 2011-10-24 20:24:18

While we are on the topic of fan devotion, and the comment about the Broncos tshirt being worn to school 3 days in a row, it might be fun to have everyone post their own anecdotal proof of Broncos fanaticism.

Posted by magster on 2011-10-24 20:23:12

I was just asking a Packer fan today why Tebow was such a polarizing figure. Together we still don&#8217t know. Why are there talking heads that chose to stake their reputation that Tebow couldn&#8217t succeed? Why is bashing his bad performance yesterday a sign that you aren&#8217t a fan? It&#8217s weird.

For myself, I know I&#8217m a fan. I want us to win. I don&#8217t root for the Broncos to suck for Luck. I knew nothing about Tebow before we drafted him, except that he won a Heisman. I do know that he seems like a good kid, and because so many say he will fail, and so many others want him to fail, I can&#8217t help rooting for him. The first 55 minutes of the game yesterday were excrutiating, and the last 5 minutes pretty darn exciting. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Since it&#8217s a game&#8230I guess the game, and Tebow, did their part, and entertained me.

Posted by NDbronco on 2011-10-24 20:21:57

Piper, that&#8217s in my top ten of all time posts, bro.

Posted by TJ Johnson on 2011-10-24 20:13:29

Piper - ha! my 4th grade family picture has everybody in sunday&#8217s best and me in a broncos tee!

Posted by comeBackKid on 2011-10-24 20:11:55

How is this happening? This &#8220rational&#8221 site has spent more time attaching Tebow in the last 24 hours than focusing on the team and where it is. Tebow&#8217s record is 2-2 and this season is 1-0 and yet all anyone is talking about here is how he is not the answer. It really is the end of the world as we know it.

Posted by JJ the Bronco fan on 2011-10-24 20:08:07

TJ - No way, man. You&#8217re my hero.

Posted by Mark on 2011-10-24 20:08:00

Piper, haha. &#8220livin in an or-ange shirt.&#8221 I actually lol&#8217ed. Kids at their meanest can be funny in hindsight! Now I have that song stuck in my head; trying to think of the artist and what movie featured that song (my best guess is Beavery Hills Cop but I don&#8217t think that&#8217s it and don&#8217t have time to google it&#8230thanks for sharing <img alt="smile" height="19" src="http://www.singernet.com/images/smileys/smile.gif" style="border:0;" width="19">

Posted by RalphW on 2011-10-24 20:06:20

Enh, I think some people might get annoyed if it looks like someone has an emotional attachment to the idea that Tebow isn&#8217t good. On the other hand, that&#8217s what we were all doing with Orton, we&#8217d get aggravated because it would be like all these other people out there just couldn&#8217t see it. So I just try and remind myself to be patient. Small sample sizes, etc. If you&#8217re wrong and Tebow has more potential than you believe, it&#8217ll work itself out in time, and I&#8217m sure you&#8217ll be thrilled to be wrong.

Posted by tunesmith on 2011-10-24 19:50:56

Piper - And even more major fan points if you still have the shirt!

Posted by Grover on 2011-10-24 19:50:47

I&#8217ve never been to a game at Mile High in my life. The closest to the stadium I&#8217ve been is I-25.

BUT&#8230 when I was in 4th grade in 1986, I wore my orange Broncos T shirt to school for THREE DAYS IN A ROW! (I only stopped because other kids teased me by singing &#8216Living in a Bronco shirt&#8217 to the tune of &#8216Living in America&#8217.) THAT should count for some major fan points!

Posted by Piper A R on 2011-10-24 19:42:55

Mark,

Loved the post. I promise not to whine, sir. The intention was to entertain, not to add drama. Hence the Tarzan reference and the tribal stuff. I suppose I could have turned all the references into Nick and Sharon from the Young and the Restless.

You wanna fight? You wanna a little piece of the dude?

Posted by TJ Johnson on 2011-10-24 19:38:47

APpreciate the objective analysis. If we wanted coddling or groupthink we&#8217d be reading something else.

Posted by chantech on 2011-10-24 19:38:18

@magster - lol

Posted by RalphW on 2011-10-24 19:35:00

The Broncos fanbase went to all hell a long time ago. It is now at the point where you can no longer have a normal conversation on many of the message boards. MHR was thoroughly ruined from top to bottom by the Tebow debate.

For every other fan of all the other 31 NFL teams, Tebow is nothing more than a project who shows flashes of brilliance and being completely and utterly pathetic.

If you watched that game and came away seeing something other than flashes of brilliance and flashes of highschool accuracy trying to make it in the pro&#8217s then your not being honest.

Thats the biggest curse that Tebow has brought with him, very few people are honest anymore. They either want him to succeed so bad that they pretend he truely does have the accuracy to be a 16-game NFL QB or they want him to fail so bad that they pretend like he didnt pull this team from defeat with a long list of spectacular plays.

I hope Tebow works out, and I love watching the experiment. However i have no hope for this fan base anymore, and they will tear each other apart long after Tebow is replaced if it comes to that.

My qualm with your game reaction article TJ is that you insist on more than one occasion (I believe) that Tebow will get hurt and get hurt somewhat soon. He has played like this his whole life and has proven durable, it&#8217s tough to ignore history and history says that an injury would be an abberation.

No matter what happens this season, the in-fighting and ridiculousness of either sides blind arguments during this offseason is going to make being a Broncos fan quite an embarrassing affair.

Posted by David Wilkie on 2011-10-24 19:34:53

If this site turns into, &#8220It&#8217s All Over, Drama Queen!&#8221, I am going to be sad to see it devolve.

I have loved reading articles here exactly because it wasn&#8217t like this post. I can get all the drama I want on Orange Mane.

Get a thicker skin, drink a beer or two, something more than thinking you need to defend yourself and correct a bunch of whiny posters. It&#8217s your site, you get to write your opinion, others can choose to read it and live with it.

Start up the drama and there will be no stopping it.

Posted by Mark on 2011-10-24 19:34:38

&#8220My name is Ralph, and I am a Bronco fan&#8221:

1. I am 34 and began my Bronco fanhood sometime in in the mid &#821680&#8217s. Longer than some, not as long as others.

2. Being a die-hard gives me a hobby. My wife says I need to get more. It keeps me from my former hobby&#8230stalking (sorry, couldn&#8217t help add in a McBean stalking joke).

3. I live in PA. I have been in the Stadium (whatever it&#8217s called now) once in my life. It was April, so there was no game, but I was able to &#8220talk&#8221 my way onto the field for a picture.

My opinion matters as little as yours but IAOFM adds to my hobby and I thank you all for that. Let&#8217s all grow up a bit and enjoy this team for what it is. Thanks again TJ, you rock!

Posted by RalphW on 2011-10-24 19:33:41

Weird. How can someone who writes for free on a blog devoted to the Broncos have his fanhood questioned?

Posted by magster on 2011-10-24 19:31:51

Yeah. No one should be able to claim to being a true fan just because they will or won&#8217t criticize someone. No sense in not being able to call a duck a duck. I didn&#8217t like Orton leading up to this game, but I can&#8217t really say I was impressed with Tebow&#8217s play either. Can&#8217t have your cake and eat it too. Keep fighting the good fight you guys. The ability to say the unpopular(and true) thing is one reason I like this site so much.

Posted by JR_G on 2011-10-24 19:26:40

Bradley,

Now that was an awesome post. Loved it.

Jane was hotter than hot&#8212for her time.

LOTF was good, but I preferred the Tarzan/Jane stuff. Call me metro.

Posted by TJ Johnson on 2011-10-24 19:25:29

I also read Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, years ago. Tarzan was raised from infancy by apes, and grew to be a very decent adult.

In Lord of the Flies, you encounter teenagers raised by human parents who quite quickly descend into barbaric behavior when confronted by stress.

Posted by bradley on 2011-10-24 19:21:59

Good stuff TJ. That sucks you got those emails though. Keep up the good fight, and just remember that a lot of people have very strange relationships with their sports teams. I dig what you are saying about primal tribes and stuff, but I also strongly believe people use their teams to release pent up emotion related to their personal lives.

People deal with sh*t and release their emotions in all different ways. Some more healthy than others. Going crazy over a pro football game isn&#8217t all that unhealthy. As a moderator and contributor to this, as you say, refined instrument of fandom, you are going to be subject to some of this BS.

Think of it this way, maybe someone ranting to you in an email is keeping that same person from kicking his dog, or worse, slapping around his wife and kids.

Posted by ButteBronco on 2011-10-24 19:15:50

I read all the Tarzan books as a kid. Great stuff, enlightened my kid world. Still in love with Jane.